NHL Canadian Corner – April 10, 2014

Canadiens fall in OT to the Blackhawks, Flames nip the Kings, reaction to the Canucks hiring Trevor Linden as president, plus the latest on the Maple Leafs, Oilers, Jets and Senators.

MONTREAL GAZETTE: Marian Hossa scored late in regulation and Patrick Sharp tallied in overtime to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-2 win over the Canadiens. Dale Weise and Francis Bouillon were the goalscorers for Montreal. The Habs remain three points up on the Tampa Bay Lightning for second in the Atlantic Division, but the latter holds a game in hand. Home ice in their upcoming conference quarterfinal remains up for grabs.

Sean Monahan scores the game winner against the Kings.

CALGARY HERALD: Karri Ramo made 41 saves to carry the Flames to a 4-3 shootout win over the Los Angeles Kings. Flames rookie Sean Monahan tallied his 21st goal and scored the winner in the shootout.

VANCOUVER PROVINCE: The Vancouver Canucks yesterday formally announced the hiring of former captain Trevor Linden as their new president of hockey operations. Tony Gallagher calls upon Linden to hire an experienced “nuts-and-bolts” general manager to rebuild the club, while Ben Kuzma speculates John Tortorella won’t be the Canucks coach for long.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Linden said he’d like to have a new GM in place by early-June, which would be a wise decision considering the NHL Draft in the final weekend of that month. I agree with Gallagher’s belief they need an experienced GM. Still, Linden must ensure he hires the right one. Once a new general manager is in place, Tortorella could be bought out of the remaining four years of his contract.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Remains to be seen if Shanahan accepts the position. I would assume it could be VP of Hockey Operations, akin to the role filled by Joe Sakic with the Colorado Avalanche. That would give Shanahan considerable input and control over roster decisions plus the hiring and firing of coaches.

EDMONTON SUN: Oilers center Boyd Gordon is out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.

OTTAWA CITIZEN: The Senators poor defensive play cost them a playoff berth.

8 Comments

Not sure about this Shanahan thing. Could be good or totally useless hard to say.

I think I’d rather offer Scotty Bowman the position or try and drag Jimmy D out of Detroit.

Shticky
on April 10, 2014 at 12:33 pm

I Think Shanny could be allright as a VP lot of years in Detroit and some good teams around the Rangers now with the NHL, he has seen how good hockey operations are run and would have plenty of connections. Probably mean the end of Nonis, a very short leash at anyrate. Who knows its the Leafs could blow up in their face but…IMO Id like to see if Shanny and maybe a guy like Hextall could turn this around.

Shticky
on April 10, 2014 at 4:27 pm

Next thought ( you may like this one Leafs24/7) maybe Nonis gets a little snubbed by such a move and goes to his big buddy Brian who offers him a job as GM and just resigns making that 5 year extension void.Just a train of thought not something Id expect but stranger things have happened.

Leafs24/7
on April 10, 2014 at 7:09 pm

I’m just not sold on Shanny. I’d like to get rid of Nonis but I want someone coming in with years of past performance. This is the number one franchise in hockey and it’s time to bring in the right GM. Burke was to far removed with his “team of guys” that did everything for him. I want a hands on guy with a record for winning like a Jimmy Devalano or a Scotty Bowman and definitely not Gretzky. The only way I see coxing one of these guys over is to appeal to their ego by telling them they can turn a dysfunctional franchise around and which already has some good pieces in place. Problem is they will look at Phaneuf and Clarksons immovable contracts and cringe. There is alss the fact Reilly has played all year and will be eligible much earlier for UFA status.

Hohhhhckey
on April 10, 2014 at 10:37 pm

Why would Shanny go work with the most disfunctional organization that has a 48 year lost record.

Shticky
on April 11, 2014 at 2:25 am

Because imagine if they ever to manage to win they will write songs about him.

Bowman
on April 10, 2014 at 10:38 pm

The thought of “Shanny” taking the reins excites and terrifies me at the same time. The rabid hockey environment in TO seems better suited to a battled tested veteran of the GM wars, as opposed to an unproven commodity like Shanahan. He could be another Stevie Y, …or the next JFJ! However, the man has been a winner where ever he’s gone, and has long been considered one of the brightest minds in the game. The big question is whether he will work in conjunction with Nonis, above him, or replace him entirely. Owing to his relative inexperience, I’d have to think that Leafs management would elect to keep Nonis around for a while at least. Man, this could be the most interesting off-season ever. What a summer to be a hockey fan!

Shticky
on April 11, 2014 at 1:09 am

Agreed playoffs would be adored but hey least there will be something to hold Leaf fans over till next year. I suspect there will be quite a bit of change. Tim Leiweke has a big ego to feed.
Shanny has been around enough great nhl clubs and execs. he will be an ok hockey ops guy. He will have Nonis or an experienced GM to get it going, smart enough guy to know he cant do it all on his own.

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